A Change Of Fate
by Phantom-Phan4ever
Summary: This story takes place during Erik's time in Persia… The Phantom and the Persian are on their way from Nadir's home to the royal court when suddenly they meet an angel. Will said angel be able to lead Erik away from his dark fate? Erik&Christine (as always!)
1. Chapter 1

**A Change Of Fate**

**Christine's POV:**

I had spent almost my entire childhood travelling around the world. It was only about one week after my mother had died, that my father insisted on leaving. Yes, he said that it was only for a short time and that it was important for a young child to see the world, but deep in my heart I knew that that was only half-way true. The truth behind it all was that my father wanted to escape the memories of my mother that haunted him in their house by the sea.

As for me, staying in the house I had grown up in helped me to keep the few memories I had of my mother alive. Everything there reminded me of my mother and I knew that if we left, I would sooner or later forget the few years I had been allowed to spend with her. And even though my heart refused to leave, I didn't dare to argue, knowing that it was best for my father.

He didn't say a word about it, but even so, I knew that losing my mother had left him broken-hearted. I was still very young and afraid that I might lose him as well and so I naively hoped that travelling around would help him to deal with my mother's death. But of course I was mistaken and soon I had to learn that my father didn't recover from his broken heart... Quite the opposite... The years went by and with every year, his heart became weaker and weaker.

My father had wanted to see the world and after his death, I decided to finish alone what we had once started together. I would go and see the world in his name, knowing that that was what had made him happy. And I found that in doing so, he was still beside me – even after his death...

And that's just what I did. After his death, I continued travelling to far-away places that I had never heard of before. For what seemed like ages I had been surrounded by nothing but trees and with every day that went by, I was increasingly certain that I was lost in the woods... But nonetheless, I kept travelling in hopes to find a way out of this seemingly endless forest.

I had travelled alone for some time and was therefore used to being all on my own. Yes, I knew it was dangerous, but I got along and had no reason for concern, nothing to be worried about, until I had reached Persia.

It was pitch black the night when I came past an old barn. Admittedly, I wasn't entirely sure, but judging by the tall grass, the owner of this place must have left a long time ago… I was tired and exhausted from travelling and unlike my usual self, I went inside, knowing that I had to find a place to stay for the night. Perhaps I could stay in that abandoned barn until I had an idea where to go next? That sounded like a great plan…

Tired and exhausted as I was, I must have fallen asleep, for I was awoken by the sound of male voices just outside the barn. They were conversing in a language that I didn't understand, but even so, I knew I had to leave this place before they would become awake of my presence. Therefore, I quickly rose to my feet and hurried over to the backdoor. I quickly sneaked out and had almost reached my horse when I was suddenly grabbed from behind. I screamed and fought in an attempt to break free from the man's grasp, but there was no use. He was too strong for me to fight him off...

When I wouldn't stop trying to free myself, he turned me to face him and slapped me hard across the face, causing me to trip and next thing I knew my body made contact with the ground. From there, all happened very quickly and before I even had time to react; this despicable man was atop of me. I kicked and screamed when I felt the skirt of my dress being lifted up, but that only seemed to anger him even more, for he slapped me once again.

I watched in horror as he pulled back to open his trousers, but even so, I knew that it was now or never. This was the only change I had to escape from this horror. As he turned his eyes away from me, I pushed him away with all my might and quickly rose to my feet. Much to my surprise it worked and without a second thought, I turned and ran as fast as I had never run before.

But again there was no use and I suddenly felt something hard against the back of my head…

**Erik's POV:**

At the age of twenty I had already murdered two people…

Or at least I thought I was. I couldn't be sure though… My birthday had never been celebrated and who was I to blame my mother for cursing the day that her bastard son had emerged her womb and ruined her life forevermore?

Of course, it was her perfect right to hate me for ruining her oh-so-perfect life, but even so, I hated her! I hated her for hating me! Didn't she understand that I had not asked to be the monster that I was?! There were times when I wished my mother had just killed me right after giving birth to me. In doing so, she'd have prevented an innocent Italian girl from dying simply because she had wanted to see my face.

Granted, I had no other choice than to kill my master in order to protect myself! If I hadn't, he would have killed me instead... It was either him or me! I knew I had to and I did not regret it for the slightest second.

Even so, I couldn't deny that I felt guilty for being responsible for the death of Giovanni's daughter… For I knew I could have prevented that horrible incident if only I had been more careful. The poor girl would still be alive if only I had disobeyed her father`s orders for me to remove my mask. Oh, I shall never forget her screams of horror and disgust! The night that she died was the night I fled Italy…

And there I was, alone once again… At this point of my life, no one would have noticed if I had just killed myself… So why didn't I just do it? I couldn't tell…

After another year or two, I found myself living with a travelling fair once again. Unlike the gypsies, they were all kind and even tried to integrate me into their community. No one questioned my mask and as I supposed they thought it was part of my performances. Little did they know…

Of course, I still despised the paying crowd greatly, but I had to admit that working as a magician was ten times better than showing my face. Though, it was obvious that people were curious about my mask and before I even knew what was happening, they started spreading rumors about a mysterious masked magician. And then one day, I learned that even the Shah of Persia had an interest in said magician…

The moment Nadir Khan walked into my tent while we were staying in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, I knew that he had potential to annoy me greatly… However, after approximately half a year of working for the Shah, I found that I had even underestimated his ability to annoy me…

Even so, I couldn't deny that I, indeed, found him quite likable and enjoyed his company. Needless to say I didn't admit it…

It was during one of those numerous and seemingly endless journeys from Nadir's place to the royal court when I made an encounter that should change my life…

**So…here's just another idea I couldn't get out of my head… What do you guys think? Oh, and if you find anything written in brackets, just ignore it :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**For those asking: Both Erik and Christine are in their twenties in this one….so there is only a small age difference. They meet during Erik's time in Persia…which means there is no Raoul *fakes sad face* ****Not as long as I have any say in it…**** SO, NO FOPS IN SIGHT! ****Sorry for those of you who like our dear Monsieur le Fop….. I just really don't… **** But don't you fret, my dear readers, we still have Nadir to annoy Erik, haven't we?**

**Erik's POV**

Nadir and I were only a few miles away from the royal court when I suddenly heard a female voice. It was still quite a distance away and difficult to understand, but as we came closer, it became obvious that she was screaming for help. When we had reached the source of the voice, my heart almost stopped within my chest…

For there, in the meadow just behind a deserted barn, was a man chasing a woman. At first I thought they were in some kind of relationship with each other, but her begging for him to let her go made is obvious that they weren't.

She was about to escape when she suddenly tripped and fell aground. Just as she was about to rise to her feet, that horrible man had approached her and beat the poor girl senseless… Just as he rolled the woman's lifeless form over and bent down to pull up her skirt, it became obvious what he was up to…

Oh, that was enough! Yes, years ago, I had vowed to myself not to care for anyone anymore, but even so, I knew I had to do something. And I had to do it now!

And therefore, I quickly approached him grabbed him by the neck, pulling him away from her. As I did so, the man was gasping for air, but I didn't care! He deserved to suffer for trying to hurt that innocent woman.

"Touch her again and you die!" I growled "You have my word on this!"

He tried to fight me off, but that only caused my temper to get the best out of me and soon, his lifeless body dropped to the dirty ground.

And then, I turned and hurried over to the girl's still lifeless form. Upon reaching her side, I noticed that she was hurt, for there was an awful lot of blood emerging from the back of her head. Admittedly, I didn't know her and had never seen her before, but all the same, my heart almost broke upon seeing her in such a state.

I knew nothing about the woman who was lying there lifelessly at my feet. Neither her name nor her age or where she had come from, but I was quite certain that she was my age – if anything! She couldn't possibly have been any older than in her twenties. Her chocolate-colored curls were framing her face so perfectly and I couldn't help but wonder what a girl as beautiful as her was doing out here all on her own. Surely she had a camp nearby? But that was impossible, for I had not seen one anywhere…

Just as I bent down to scoop her lifeless body up into my arms; Nadir's voice brought me back to reality.

"Erik, what are you doing?" he questioned.

"What does it look like?" I growled, turning back to face him.

"You don't even know her!"

"I bet that swine didn't know her either."

"Erik,"

"That despicable man tried to rape her!" I furiously yelled "rape!"

"Who's to say it was an attempted rape?" he insisted "What if it was consensual?"

At that insolent question, I growled and rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"She is hurt, you idiot!" I growled "I highly doubt it was consensual. Unless of course hurting the woman you are about to make love to is just another disgusting custom in your country."

"We can't take her to the royal court, Erik." He protested "Erik, the shah will never permit-"

"I'm not going back to the court."

"What?!" the Persian gasped "What are you talking about?"

"We're going to take her back to your house until she is better." I simply told him.

"Erik, you can't be serious!"

"Oh, but I am."

"You most certainly are mad! Do you hear? Mad!"

"Will you finally shut up and help me?"

"Fine! I'll help you, but you are going to answer to the shah for this. Are you aware of this?"

"I don't answer to anyone!"

"You are going to get us both killed!"

"Most certainly, yes." I absentmindedly nodded as I turned back towards the girl.

"Erik, are you even listening to me?"

"Of course…"

"Then what did I just say?"

"Oh, come on, Nadir! You never stop talking!"

That said, I decided to end our conversation by scooping the girl up and carried her back to my horse. After all, she was hurt and there was no further time to waste!

When we had reached the Persian's home a few days later, the poor girl was still unconscious. I knew I shouldn't have given her as much laudanum, but I hated to know that someone as beautiful as her was in pain. She just didn't deserve to suffer! To me, being in pain and having to suffer was nothing new, but it was nothing someone as perfect as her should have to experience.

She was still a complete stranger to me, and yet, she had something about her that held me breathless…

The woman was overwhelmingly beautiful and I couldn't help but wonder whether she had someone out there who was looking for her. Oh, what a tragic waste of beauty if she hadn't!

When Nadir asked, I had told him that I had no particular reason for saving the woman, but this was only half-way true. Even at our very first encounter in the woods, I didn't fail to notice that there was something strangely familiar about her… And now that I took a closer look at her, I found the answer staring me right in the face… That woman, whose name I didn't even know, bore a great resemblance to my mother! Oh, what was that all about? Was that the reason why I had rescued her?

**I'm currently working on the final of NO MORE AND YET NO LESS so please forgive me for not updating in a while. I'm really trying my best to figure out a final I can live with. Anyway,... I hope you are enjoying this one and please! Please review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Erik's POV:**

Some say that comatose patients are still aware of what is happening around them... They say they can still hear when someone is talking to them. Perhaps not actively, but subconsciously, they still know and they might, perhaps, wake sooner.

That was why I sat at her bedside and sang to her, hoping to somehow help this beautiful girl. Someone as perfect as her did not deserve to suffer or even be in pain.

I wanted her to wake… I wanted to talk to her but all the same, I feared the day she would wake. For from that day and forever more, I would have to keep away from her. She was far too perfect and didn't deserve to be bothered with the presence of someone like me

Ignorant and stubborn as the Persian was, we had several arguments about whether or not it was helpful to stay at her bedside and sing for her. And more than once, I ended up growling an insult at him before rushing out of the room and slamming the door shut behind me. Oh, why didn't he understand?

**Christine's POV:**

When I awoke, my head was throbbing with the most agonizing pain that I had ever known. Upon opening my eyes, I found that nothing about the room seemed familiar to me… I sat up to look around when suddenly the door was pushed open with an alacrity that quite alarmed me.

"Ah, the patient is awake." The man who had just entered greeted me "It's nice to see you are awake, Miss."

Oh, who was this strange man and how had I come to find myself in his care? Last thing I could recall, I was desperately trying to escape from the stranger in the woods.

"Where am I?" I questioned, never turning my eyes away from the stranger.

He chuckled softly and muttered something I couldn't understand before turning to face me.

"I'm Nadir Khan," he introduced himself, a small smile pulling on his lips up timidly at the corners.

"What happened?" I demanded without paying any further attention to what he had just said "Why am I here?"

I knew it wasn't very polite of me to simply keep asking questions, but I wanted to find out who he was and how I had come here. After all, I had yet to find out whether or not he was one of the men who had tried to rape me in the woods.

"We were on our way to the royal court when we found your lifeless body in the woods." He replied, taking his seat at my bedside.

"We?" I questioned, nervously.

Was I right then? Had those dreadful people kidnapped me and taken to their home?!

"Yes, Erik and I" he explained "You were hurt and helpless. We knew you'd most certainly die without any medical treatment. This is the reason why we brought you here."

But still, I couldn't bring myself to turn my eyes away from him, considering whether or not I could trust him.

"There is no need to be afraid, Miss. You are safe here." He assured.

I wasn't one to trust people easily, but this man seemed honest and trustable…. Could I risk it?

"Thank you for saving my life, monsieur." I nodded, giving him a small smile.

"You are more than welcome, Miss." He assured "Please, call me Nadir."

"Nadir," I repeated, hoping to pronounce it correctly "I'm Christine."

"Christine," he smiled politely "Nice to have you here."

"Thank you for nursing me and allowing me to stay here."

"It's only been a few days," he waved me off "No need to thank me at all."

I was about to ask another question when Nadir rose to his feet.

"You must be very hungry." He told me "I'll go and get you something to eat, Christine."

I was about to protest, but he simply turned, disappearing before I had the chance to stop him.

Roughly a week later, I was feeling better and finally allowed to get up. I had been trapped in this bed for far too long and therefore, I decided to go out into the garden to get some fresh air.

And so, I quickly rose from the bed, changed into one of the dresses that Nadir had brought for me, and headed towards the garden.

The house seemed deserted. Only when I had reached the patio door, did I find the man that Nadir had introduced as Erik. He was playing with a boy who was about five years old, chasing him through the garden.

The boy laughed and seemed to enjoy the game greatly and as I did not wish to disturb them; I simply stood in the doorway. A timid smile playing upon on my lips as I leaned against the doorframem, silently watching them.

At some point, I became aware of Nadir standing beside me. I hadn't heard him approaching and so I had no idea how long he had already been there. For few moments we both just stood there and watched them play until Nadir cleared his throat and called for the boy.

He spoke in his native tongue. I didn't understand what he had said, but judging by the boy's reaction, he was told to come into the house. For as soon as he heard his words, the child stopped running and frowned before rushing towards the Persian.

With that, Nadir scooped him up into his arms and went upstairs. The man had told me that Erik had insisted to bring me here I came to realize that I had yet to thank him for it.

Therefore, I turned and walked into the garden where I found him sitting at the edge of the fountain. Erik sat in perfect silence, but quickly rose to his feet when he noticed me.

"It's nice to see you are feeling better, Miss." He greeted me politely.

"Please, call me Christine." I smiled, reaching one hand out to him.

Though, instead of taking it into his, he simply stared down at my hand for a brief moment.

"I'm Erik." He replied.

"Nadir said you insisted on bringing me here to nurse me." I started after a few moments of awkward uncomfortable silence.

"You really shouldn't believe every word that the Persian tells you." He told me firmly.

I was about to reply, but just in that moment, cleared his throat and continued.

"Now, please, do excuse me." He spoke softly "I've got some work to do."

Just as I nodded did he turn and left without saying another word.

Silently, I stood there and watched him head back to the house.

Only about half an hour ago, I had watched him chasing a child through the garden and yet, he was so cold and distant now. His sudden change in behavior confused me. Had I done something wrong?….

**Their first encounter… Please review? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Erik's POV:**

On my first day in Persia, I was told that the shah wanted the most beautiful palace in the world. He had asked me to do it and as I'd always dreamed of creating beautiful things, I gladly agreed. Little did I know back then…

Initially, I quite enjoyed working for the shah, but that quickly changed when I was instructed to design one method of torture after another… After a while, I found that I was sick and tired of it… Building torture chambers was nothing I had dreamed of doing and I quickly came to despise it. But even so, I knew I had no choice… I couldn't refuse the shah, for if I did, I'd be dead by sunrise... At court, betrayal meant death that was the only thing one could be certain of… It was an unwritten law and everyone was aware of it.

My hideous face was the reason why I had always been denied the beautiful thing in life… Music was the only beauty in my life and composing was the only way to escape the hell I was living. There were times when I would sit in Nadir's music room and play his piano for hours and hours on repeat and the world around me would fall away.

And one night, when I was once more haunted by nightmares and couldn't sleep, I got up and silently walked down the hallway to the Persian's music room and sat down, totally unaware that I was being watched…

**Christine's POV:**

When I was a child, my father used to tell me endless stories… But I was never one to believe in the ghost stories or the dark stories of the north that he would to tell me… However, there was one story that I believed in with all my heart. To be precise, it wasn't an old story in that sense… No… It was more of an old legend. One of an angel, the Angel of Music… Each and every night, I would beg my father to tell me about him and more than once I prayed that the Angel would come to me.

When my father died, he promised he would send him to me. As the years went by, I kept praying and then, one day, I heard his voice. The Angel of Music really came! He sang to me in my sleep and sometimes he would even talk to me. And then, one night, I heard him even before I fell asleep…

Curious as to where the music was coming from, I rose to my feet and wrapped my nightgown tightly around my body. That done I sneaked out of my room and tiptoed down the hallway.

Following the sound of soft piano playing, I soon found myself in the music room of Nadir's house. The room was rarely lit by candles, but I could still see the person who sat at the piano. It was a tall, dark figure and I knew at once that it was Erik.

He had his back turned on me and as I tiptoed closer, I saw his long and slender fingers moving across the piano keys with such grace. The eyes behind the mask were closed and for the first time since we had met he seemed calm, for his body wasn't tense.

For several minutes, I simply stood there and watched him play until he began to softly sing along to what he was playing. That was when I froze right where I stood and stared at him with widened eyes, for I knew that voice… Oh, I'd known it anywhere!

It was the voice of my Angel of Music… But how could this be?

And then, a ridiculous idea crossed my mind... Was Erik the Angel of Music? Oh, who was I kidding?

It was impossible!

Erik was a man like any other and surely not an angel that my father had promised to send to me.

The masked half of his face was hidden in shadow, making him look just like any other. His thick black hair was smoothed back down to the back of his head, exposing an otherwise flawless face.

Why was he wearing that mask when his face seemed almost handsome? What had he to hide?

When the music suddenly came to a halt, I heard myself softly applauding and at once, the eyes behind the mask shot open. Instead of speaking, he simply stared at me, his eyes burning into mine.

"I..I didn't mean to wake you, Miss Christine." He said after a few moments, breaking the silence between us "I' am sorry…"

"Erik, please call me Christine." I insisted.

"Christine," he nodded.

"And you didn't wake me," I assured "I couldn't sleep and when I heard soft piano playing, I wanted to know where it was coming from. There is no need to apologize…"

At that, he only nodded and turned his attention back to the sheet music in front of him.

"You play wonderful," I said.

Though, wonderful was an understatement… In fact, there were indeed no words to possibly describe the music that he was playing. It was beyond everything I had heard before…

"It's just random playing," he waved me off "Nothing special at all."

If that was just random playing, then what would it sound like if he focused on it? I could only imagine…

"It's nonetheless beautiful." I insisted, offering him a soft smile.

"Well, thank you…"

"Who has taught you to play?" I questioned.

This man was fascinating and I wanted to find out more about him.

"No one," he responded politely "I taught myself how to play when I was a child."

Uncertain of what to say or do next, I simply stood and offered him a soft smile.

"Do you play?" he inquired after a few moments.

I shook my head slightly, looking down at my feet.

"No, I don't. When I was a child, my father wanted to teach me how to play, but we travelled a lot after my mother's death and so he never got the change to…"

"Would…." He hesitated shortly before clearing his throat. "Would you still like to learn?"

His offer surprised me and caused me to smile softly.

"You'd be willing to waste your precious time and try to teach me?"

At that, he chuckled and looked back up at me "I am sure it wouldn't be a waste of time, Christine."

"Well," I nodded "In that case, I would love to learn from you."

With that, he nodded as he rose to his full height and took a few steps back.

"Very well, then…" he began, gesturing towards the piano bench "Take your seat."

Clueless of what else to do, I placed my hands to the piano keys and waited for further instructions from him.

However, instead of telling me what to do next, he came to stand right behind me and reached forward to gently place his hands over my own.

Until this very moment, he had always tried and kept a certain distance between us, but he stood so close to me now that I could feel his breath against my ear.

Ever so gently, he used his hands to guide my hands over the keys, making it seem as if I was playing the wonderful melody that was now filling the room.

There had always been something about him that intrigued me and having him only inches apart from me now, I felt tempted to just reach up and touch him. But I knew I couldn't possibly do it.

Several hours went by and only when he stopped playing did I remove my hands from beneath his and reached up for his flawless cheek. And before I even knew what was happening, I tilted my head just enough to place a soft kiss to his lips…

**Please review! **


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